RBG: revolutionary but gangsta

RBG: revolutionary but gangsta

Yep, this is Dead Prez's famously long-delayed album, finally surfacing after a string of label deals gone wonky, but no amount of red tape could've stopped the Red, Black, and Green movement--colors of the African Liberation flag--that is tirelessly championed here. Equal part activists and MCs, Stic and M1 continue their unwavering quest to rally the oppressed for a full-scale war against the State, as evidenced early on in "Walk Like a Warrior." When guest Krayzie Bone starts his triple-time rhyming against societal oppression--now <I>that's</I> beyond gangsta. DP slyly churn out their Pan-Africanist agenda throughout these 12 tracks, but it's actually their more focused tirades that win out: on "W-4" they rail against unjust worker conditions and wages, and on "Radio Freq" they implore folks to "turn off the radio" to protest the monotony that plagues commercial urban radio. There are a few less, er, diplomatic tracks that might not win over new fans who don't share their interest in radical activist dogma; on the other hand, a track like "Hell Yeah (Pimp the System)"--with its get-money-quick schemes (performing stick-ups or skimming cash from the register at work) and a remix featuring Jay-Z--might expand the audience. Although not as sonically fluid as their <I>Let's Get Free</I> debut, <I>RBG</I>'s great in-house beats still magically match the intensity of their rhymes. Now how many other politico MCs can claim that? <I>--Dalton Higgins</I>